Guitarist Stratagem, made in collaboration with the Romanian percussionist MJ Catalin -- shows that as in the case of our planet, there's much to be found beneath its outer crust.
The song begins with swatches of percussion and a slight breeze of guitar, under which a steady beat takes the stage, providing a focal point -- a meditation, even -- much like a ticking clock does in a quiet room. It's this dreamy layer of ambience and faux heartbeat that makes songs like Massive Attack's "Teardrop" so riveting.
"Eva" -- which stands for EVA, or Extra Vehicular Activity, a NASA term for a space-walk -- soon unfolds into a melody that seems to stretch into the past and the present simultaneously, channeling bits of '80s movie soundtracks where star-crossed lovers ride off into the sunset, as well as the spacey synth songs of Gary Numan and the out-there early electronic experiments of Neu!, which sound futuristic to this day.
Bocast says his fans often describe the track as triumphant-sounding, but to him, it's a song about love, awe and loss of control as well.
"It sort of becomes an ambient 'Layla' at the end," he says.
An MP3 of "The Hidden Face of Eva" is available in the related downloads section at right. More music by Chris Bocast is available on his MySpace page. The musician will showcase some of his compositions, as well as some classical guitar songs, at a live performance at the Crossroads Coffeehouse in Cross Plains on Sunday, August 2.
MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.